'Are we going to move the event or cancel it?' It was the question on many an organiser's mind during the corona crisis. Fortunately, there was a third option, organising the event online. After all, for Foundation for Refugee Students UAF, there was one thing beyond doubt: the UAF Award had to be presented in 2021 no matter what. And so it happened; they opted for a dazzling online award ceremony via the Jaarbeurs Studio.
UAF is the oldest refugee foundation in the Netherlands. The foundation helps refugees develop themselves further in terms of study and work. As a non-profit organisation, the foundation lives off donations. It therefore organises an annual campaign around the UAF-Award to show its impact, recruit donors and increase brand awareness. With the UAF-Award, the UAF draws attention to the potential and perseverance of refugee students and professionals. The winner is determined by a professional jury and a public vote. Normally, the UAF-Award is presented at UAF Live! for everyone who got a job or graduated that year and for other UAF relations. The event is all about toasting successes and networking with like-minded people.
But corona threw a spanner in the works and measures meant the event could not take place again. That also meant no presentation of the UAF Award. And that was not an option for campaign leader Lise van Zuilekom. 'With this election, we show our impact. It's about appealing to our supporters and inspiring other refugees. We hadn't been able to do anything for a year, so we decided to make it a digital broadcast'.
Relying on expertise of others
The UAF touched down in Jaarbeurs Studio: a permanent recording studio developed for online events. It is rented out with support from experienced technicians so you can focus on the subject yourself. Van Zuilekom: 'We chose this because it really is a professional setting. With us, nobody had experience in working out a talk show. So we were looking for a space where we could rent both the studio and the technology together. Jaarbeurs Studio is really plug & play.'
Focus on core issues
From the control room, Van Zuilekom watched the broadcast, which was set up as a slick talk show with various speakers and, of course, the presentation of the award. 'A talk show is secretly quite hectic. Someone gets up from the table, needs a new earpiece, the camera gets a different angle and at the same time the musicians come into view. Jaarbeurs therefore cooperates with Heuvelman Sound & Vision to ensure that everything concerning technology runs smoothly. This allowed us to focus on the people present. Actually, I was very relaxed. I could focus on what was important to me: showing what beautiful people there are and what their potential is.'
Jaarbeurs is a beautiful venue with a fine team that thinks with us. The digital award ceremony opened our eyes.
The moment supreme beautifully captured
Via the livestream, hundreds of viewers watched chemistry teacher Norhan Alsheikh Hidar from Syria win the award. It proved virtually impossible for the teacher to resume her career as a pharmacist in the Netherlands, so she had herself retrained at breakneck speed through UAF and Windesheim's Status Holders for the Classroom project. Now she teaches chemistry to secondary school students.
The announcement was beautifully portrayed. Van Zuilekom: 'There are fixed cameras in the studio to film the people at the table. We wanted to do the presentation standing up and thus capture more people. Jaarbeurs therefore also arranged for a mobile cameraman who managed to capture the emotional moment.'
Back in hybrid form
Van Zuilekom looks back on the event positively. 'We found it exciting to do, but we are very happy with the result. Jaarbeurs is a beautiful venue with a fine team that thinks along with us. And they are flexible. For those reasons alone, I would consider coming back. The digital award ceremony opened our eyes. UAF Live! will stay, but we will definitely look into turning it into a hybrid event.'
Bas, account manager conferences and online events
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